1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to rotary compressors and, particularly, to two-stage rotary compressors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotary compressors generally include a compression mechanism mounted within a hermetic housing. An eccentric portion of a crankshaft is mounted within the compression mechanism. The crankshaft is rotated by a motor to in turn rotate a roller on the eccentric portion of the crankshaft within the compression chamber to compress a working fluid received by the compression chamber from a suction pressure to a higher discharge pressure.
In order to provide additional compression, the compression mechanism may be a two-stage compression mechanism. In a two-stage compression mechanism, the compression mechanism has two, discrete compression chambers. The first compression chamber receives working fluid at suction pressure and compresses the working fluid to an intermediate pressure. The second compression chamber then receives the previously compressed working fluid at intermediate pressure and compresses the working fluid to a higher discharge pressure. By utilizing a two-stage compression mechanism, the overall efficiency of the compressor may be increased.